Glaciers

World Distribution of Water

Ocean: 97.2%
Glaciers and other ice: 2.13%
Groundwater: 0.61%
Rivers & Lakes: 0.017%
Where are Glaciers?
10% of Earths surface is covered by
glaciers
found on nearly every continent, even
Africa.

10% in Greenland
85% in Antarctica
Last 5% occur at high elevation (alpine)
What are Glaciers?
Large, long-lasting mass of ice formed on land that
moves downhill under its own weight
Forms where snow accumulates faster than it melts

Two types of glaciation

1. Alpine glaciation
2. Continental glaciation
 Alpine Glaciers

Alpine glaciers are very slow

moving rivers of ice flowing
down high mountain valleys
Found high in mountain valleys,
above the snow line
Snowline: the point above
which snow and ice cover the
ground throughout the year
Continental Glaciers
Continental glaciers cover parts of continental land masses
Much larger than alpine glaciers
Types of Ice
Ice sheet: a mass of glacial land ice extending more than 50,000
square kilometers (20,000 square miles). The two ice sheets on
Earth today cover most of Greenland and Antarctica
Ice shelves: permanent floating sheets of ice that connect to a
landmass.
Iceberg: A block of ice that has broken or calved from the face of a
glacier and is floating in a body of water
Sea Ice: simply frozen ocean water. It forms, grows, and melts in
the ocean
How a glacier forms:
In order for a glacier to form, 3 conditions must
be met:

1) Cold climate snow present year round

2) Enough snowfall for snow to accumulate
3) Slop of the surface must be gentle enough so that
the snow doesnt slide away in an avalanche
 Formation of a Glacier
1) Snow falls as powder &
accumulates
2) Compacted & Compress
- destroys points
- Creates firn
3) As it is buried air is forced
out & the crystal interlock
 Anatomy of a Glacier
Zone of accumulation:
where snow falls and
there is constant snow
cover
Zone of ablation: where
ice is lost due to melting
or evaporation
 Between these two areas a balance is reached,
where snowfall equals snowmelt, and the
glacier is in equilibrium. Whenever this
equilibrium is disturbed, either by increased
snowfall or by excessive melting, the glacier
either advances or retreats at more than its
normal pace.
 Advancement/Retreat
Glaciers periodically retreat or advance, depending on
the amount of snow accumulate or evaporation that
occurs.

Advance and retreat only refer to the terminus, or end

of the glacier
When a glacier retreats, it is not moving backwards,
but simply melting or evaporating at the terminus
(end) of the glacier.
 Glacial Movement
Glaciers move downslope under the force of gravity
Rate: a few millimeter (mm) to 15 meter (m)/day

Glaciers slide on a layer of water or on a slurry of water and

sediment
Due to friction, the glacier moves slower on the bottom than on
the top

Glacier moves faster under:

Warmer climate
Steeper slopes
Glacial Movement Zadazan Glacier
in the Pennine
Alps, Europe.
1894
Crevasses: A crack or
series of cracks that open
in the surface of a moving
glacier in response to
differential stresses caused
by glacier flow

Muir Glacier, Alaska. 1896

Alpine Glacial Features
Glacier Deposition
As glaciers advance and retreat, they are carrying and depositing
sediment (till)
Moraine: body of unsorted, unlayered glacier sediment (till) left after
a glacier recedes
Lateral Moraines: sediment deposits along the sides of glaciers
Terminal Moraines: sediment deposits at the end or terminus of a glacier
Medial Moraines: sediment deposits in the middle of the glacier
forms by the joining of two lateral moraines when two glaciers merge.
Often these linear deposits or rocks are left behind after the ice in a
glacier has melted
Glacial Deposits
Till
Glacial Deposits
Glacial Deposits

Medial & Lateral Moraines

Terminal & Lateral Moraines
Glacial Deposits
Erratics: Ice-transported boulder
Glacial Erosion
When a glacier moves, it drags along rocks and sediments, that erode
the land, in addition to the ice.

Glacial Groove: A linear depression, inches to miles in length,

produced by the removal of rock or sediment by the erosive action of
a glacier

Striations: Multiple, generally parallel, linear grooves, carved by rocks

frozen in the bed of a glacier into the bedrock over which it flows
 Glacial Erosion

Glacial striations on rocks at Glacial grooves located at

Mount Rainier National Park Kelleys Island in Ohio
Alpine Glacial Erosion
Cirques: a bowl-shaped, amphitheater-like depression eroded into the
head or the side of a glacier valley
 Alpine Glacial Erosion
Artes: A jagged, narrow ridge that separates two adjacent glacier valleys or
cirques. The ridge frequently resembles the blade of a serrated knife
Alpine Glacial Erosion
Horn: A pointed, mountain peak, typically pyramidal in shape,
bounded by the walls of three or more cirques.
Alpine Glacial Erosion

U shaped valleys: A valley with a parabolic or "U" shaped

cross-section, steep walls and generally a broad and flat
floor. Formed by glacier erosion, a U-shaped valley results
when a glacier widens and over-steepens a V-shaped stream
valley

Hanging Valleys: A former tributary glacier valley that is

incised into the upper part of a U-shaped glacier valley,
higher than the floor of the main valley
Alpine Glacial Erosion

U-shaped valley Hanging valley

Alpine Glacial Landforms
Tarn: A lake that
develops in the basin of
a cirque, generally after
the melting of the
glacier
Paternoster lake: A
chain of lakes may
develop in a valley with
glacial steps; often each
step will have a lake
Alpine Glacial Landforms
Fjord: A glacially eroded or
modified U-shaped valley that
extends below sea level and
connects to the ocean
Alpine Glacial Features
U-Shaped Valley
Continental Glacial Features
 Continental Glacial Landforms

Kettle: A depression that

forms in an outwash plain
or other glacial deposit by
the melting of an in-situ
block of glacier ice
 Continental Glacial Landforms
Outwash plain:
a plain formed of
glacial sediments
deposited by
meltwater outwash at
the terminus of a
glacier
Continental Glacial Landforms
Esker: a long, winding ridge of
stratified sand and gravel that
forms within or at the end of
a glacial stream channel
Continental Glacial Landforms
Kame: an irregularly
shaped hill or mound
composed of sand,
gravel and till that
accumulates in a
depression on a
retreating glacier
Continental Glacial Landforms
Drumlin: An elongated ridge of glacial sediment sculpted by ice
moving over the bed of a glacier. Generally, the down-glacier end is
oval or rounded and the up-glacier end tapers.
 Continental Glacial Landforms
Roche Mountonne: A rock formation created by the passing of a
glacier. It has a gentle slope on its up-glacier side and a steep- to
vertical-face on the down-glacier side
Continental Glacial Landforms
Glacial Resources
Drinking Water
Glacial meltwater
Many rivers in China, India and other parts of Asia are fed by snowmelt in the
Himalaya Mountains

Irrigate Crops
Water crops during dry periods

Hydroelectric Power
Dam meltwater produce electricity
 Dangers of Glaciers
Although glaciers are usually found in remote areas, they can pose a problem
to human civilization
1. Flooding
- Extreme melting or usually fast melting can cause flooding
- Glacier created dams collapsing
- Ex. Russell Fjord 1986 trapped lake gave way water gush equivalent
to about 35 Niagara Falls
2. Avalanches/Calving
- Enormous masses of ice breaking off

3. Icebergs
- Poses threat to sea shipping routes
- Ex. Titanic
 Gangotri Glacier, Himalaya Mountains

Glaciers & Climate Change

Glacial ice can range in age from several
hundred to several hundreds of thousands years
Since the early 20th century, most glaciers have
been retreating at extremely fast rates
Possible cause: Industrial Revolution (1760) ??
Many glaciers and ice shelves have disappeared altogether in this
century
More are retreating so rapidly they may vanish within a matter of
decades
 Glaciers & Climate Change
Within the past 200 years or so,
human activity has increased the
amount of carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere by 40%
These gases absorb heat being
radiated from the surface, and in
doing so, slowly warms up the
atmosphere
Greenhouse gases